Some readers say it's graphene again, which is a trope used by the instant noodle rich man. I want to say, graphene is just technology, it doesn't represent the overall plot direction of the book. This is a different development route from the instant noodle rich man.
"What, Elder Ni hasn't slept for 29 hours? What are you people doing, trying to set the country's technology back 20 years?" Huang He cursed as soon as he arrived at the laboratory and heard the person in charge report that Elder Ni had been awake for a full 29 hours.
"Boss, it's not our fault. You know Elder Ni's temper. No one can stop him when he wants to conduct experiments!" the person in charge said helplessly.
"Alright then, I'll give you special permission. From now on, if Elder Ni stays awake for more than 20 hours, you will directly lock him in his room and not let him out until he sleeps!" Huang He said grumpily.
"You dare?" a vigorous voice shouted. Both the person in charge and Huang He immediately backed down. Huang He even approached like a kitten and said, "Elder Ni, I'm doing this for your own good. I'm still counting on you to live longer and create more value for me!"
"That's right. How long a person lives doesn't depend on how much they sleep, but on how happily they live. I'm staying up because I'm happy, and that's good for my health, understand?" Ni Guangnan said. Huang He was speechless. Who would have thought that such twisted logic would come from an academician?
"Then Elder Ni, can you go to sleep now?" Huang He asked.
"Impossible. Do you know how happy I am right now?" Ni Guangnan's face seemed to tremble with a smile. "Huang He, you've really found a treasure. Whether it's Tong He or this special graphite material, they are both heavenly treasures."
"I've completed the basic experiments on the material properties of this graphene. Although the data obtained is still relatively basic and one-sided, I am certain that in at most 30 years, the entire world will be changed by this material. Countless new products, when designed and manufactured, will likely consider incorporating this new material because it can comprehensively improve the capabilities and characteristics of products."
"If this isn't something you discovered privately, I would submit it to the country immediately!" Ni Guangnan said excitedly. "However, if you give me permission now, I will immediately have Tong He and I co-author a paper. I guarantee it can be published in a famous international journal, and who knows, it might even get you a Nobel Prize."
"Whether I write the permission or not isn't the issue, because this discovery belongs to Tong He. If permission is needed, it's up to Tong He to permit it!" Huang He said with a wry smile. "But teacher, have you considered the consequences if this paper is actually submitted?"
"Naturally, it will attract global attention, awe, academic sensation, and even winning the Nobel Prize will be a natural progression," Ni Guangnan said.
This was not incorrect. The person who discovered this material in history indeed had a very smooth path to winning the Nobel Prize because the performance of this material was truly outstanding.
"If that's the case, aren't we giving this material to others?" Huang He said nonchalantly.
"Giving it to others? How is that possible? We invented it, so how can we give it to others?" Ni Guangnan asked, puzzled.
"If we want to publish, we have to write a paper, right? Then the paper will be sent to international journals, and many experimental details will be included. Later, many people will try to reproduce our experiments, and then everyone in the world will know how to manufacture this material. Isn't this equivalent to giving it away?" Huang He said.
"..." Ni Guangnan hesitated for a moment. "But we can apply for a patent. Even if others manufacture it, only we can use it."
"No!" Huang He shook his head. "If it were an ordinary invention or material, this would be correct. But this material is too versatile. Even with a patent, it's difficult to prevent others from researching it."
"Also, the patent protection period for any material is 20 years, and it will likely take more than 30 years for this material to be practically applied in computers."
"So by the time we can use this material to manufacture computer chips, everyone will already be able to use this material, and the patent restrictions will no longer exist."
"Therefore, if we submit the paper on this material now, regardless of whether we apply for a patent, it will inevitably be researched by scientists worldwide. According to patent law, as long as the technology is used for research and not for commercial purposes, it will not infringe on patent protection."
"This way, everyone can research graphene in laboratories for 20 years. When our patent expires, they can openly use it for commercial purposes. Wouldn't this be equivalent to giving the technology of this material to other countries?" Huang He said calmly.
"I've never considered these issues..." Ni Guangnan fell silent for a while, then shook his head and said somewhat bitterly, "But what you said makes sense. However, this is a research achievement that can definitely win the Nobel Prize. Our country hasn't truly had a Nobel Prize-winning achievement in physics yet."
"Is the Nobel Prize important?" Huang He retorted when he heard Ni Guangnan's words.
"Of course it's important. It's the world's most outstanding science award..." Before Ni Guangnan could finish, Huang He interrupted him. "Teacher, this award is given to scientists who have made significant scientific achievements. It is awarded because of these achievements. So, based on this, we have already won the Nobel Prize, haven't we? Because we have already developed an achievement of the same caliber."
"Ah... this..." Ni Guangnan was speechless again. Huang He's words sounded wrong, but if you tried to pinpoint where they were wrong, you couldn't. xxs壹贰
"But... if this award is not announced, we won't get it, will we?" Ni Guangnan said helplessly.
"As if we'll get the Nobel Prize just by announcing it!" Huang He sneered. "Teacher Ni, you should know that since the founding of the country, although we haven't had many achievements, we've still had some Nobel Prize-level research achievements. But we haven't received a single one. Do you know why?"
"This... this is..."
"Let me be blunt, the Nobel Prize is not entirely fair. Its review committee is almost entirely composed of white people, and they all have serious ideological biases. Therefore, they will never give the Nobel Prize to us."
"Of course, if they don't give it to us at all, it might seem inappropriate. So they will specifically choose people who can disgust us, such as traitors, writers who expose the ugly Chinese society, or researchers who have been suppressed and wronged by some scum. They will choose to give it to these people and use their stories to disgust us!" Huang He said calmly.
"I believe the Nobel review committee is fair, and they wouldn't be as dark as you say!" Ni Guangnan insisted. After all, the integrity of Western countries had not yet declined at this time, and Western society was still a paradise unimaginable to China.
In the perception of many Chinese people, every Westerner was a highly civilized and excellent male or female, all Western countries were absolutely fair and just, and they would not do anything to hinder free trade.
This was the Western filter unique to this era, which could not be shattered by a few words from Huang He. It required Westerners to self-destruct.
"However, I am convinced by you. But if we don't publish the paper, what should we do now?" Ni Guangnan asked.
"Do you know why many special materials, especially special steels, in our country have always been very backward, to the extent that our fighter jet engines have been severely limited and have had to use engines from other countries?" Huang He asked.
"Because we can't figure out the formulas for those special steels. For a special material, the addition ratio of each element has strict regulations, and it even requires precision to more than 10 decimal places. If we don't master the formula, we can't make the materials we need!" Ni Guangnan nodded.
"Exactly. Take a special steel required for engines, for example. Americans developed it 50 years ago, but we still haven't mastered it."
"Why is this? It's because for these special materials, Americans never apply for patents. Instead, they hide the secret formulas in their safes, so they don't have to worry about the formulas being leaked."
"Because according to patent regulations, applying for a material patent requires disclosing the material's formula. Once a patent is applied for, it is equivalent to publishing the formula. After the patent protection period expires, all companies can use these formulas."
"Conversely, if patents are not applied for, there is no risk of them being used by others."
"My plan is the same. That is, we will research this special material privately with our own strength, never apply for any patents, and not even leak a single bit of information. As long as no second person accidentally discovers this special material, we can conduct research independently and secretly."
"By the time people from other countries discover this material, we will have been researching it alone for decades, even centuries, accumulating a large number of scientific achievements and technical barriers. Just like the terrifying technical wall we face with computers now, Westerners will kneel before the technical wall we build in the future. Thinking about it makes me tremble all over!" Huang He said, and he was indeed trembling all over.
"However, there is a problem with this," Ni Guangnan said after a moment's hesitation.
"What problem?"
"Money!" Ni Guangnan said. "This completely new material is entirely unknown. To thoroughly understand its properties, conduct research, find corresponding application fields, etc., all of this requires money, and an unimaginable amount of money. It will likely cost at least billions, or even tens of billions, to get even some simple results, or even nothing useful at all."
"Are you sure you want to spend money like this?" Ni Guangnan asked.
"Spend it!" Huang He nodded decisively. "Since the money is earned, it must be spent, and spent heavily. No matter how much money you earn, if you don't spend it, where does the happiness come from?"